NOVICE DOG TRICKS
 |
Perhaps you know someone like this, maybe it's you. To communicate with your dog you must speak to him with consistent and precise words. The command 'sit' is incorrect if used to stop a dog from barking, from running, or from urinating on your friend's leg.
SIT: Sit is the most basic and easiest for any breed to learn. You will need three things: a six-foot leash, training collar, and a lot of patience. With the leash in your right hand, position yourself to face the same direction as your dog, with him on your left side. With your left index finger find the hip joints of your dogs hindquarters, near his spine, on the dogs back. You will find two indentions.
Hold them with a firm squeeze. As you say "sit" push down with your left hand and pull the leash up with your right hand at the same time. Stretch the sound of the word "sit" until the dog is actually sitting. Give the command with gentle authority and push on his hip joints slowly. When he properly sits, praise him.
HEEL: The first step in teaching the heel is to have your dog in the proper position. Place him in the sit position on your left side. Using the six-foot leash, hold it with both hands as if you were going to initiate your punishment. Always allow two or three feet of slack on the leash.
Once you are ready to go, give the command: "Ramsey, heel!" The name is important because it alerts the dog to move in a forward position. Move the left foot first. This is important because your dog is on your left, he will see your left foot move first, making him walk with you, which remember is the point of the heel. Now your dog will want to run ahead of you.
To solve this minor dilemma, allow him to reach the end of the leash. As he reaches the end of it, quickly turn right and make a complete U-turn. At the moment of impact say "heel" in a loud authoritative voice. Reverse naturally the other way and praise him when he catches up.
Sit and heel are the most basic and novice of dog tricks, but if you can teach your pooch these tricks, all the other slipper fetching, shaking tricks will follow.
How to deprogram an attack dog
There are several reasons why a dog owner would want to deprogram an attack dog. For example, I have a friend whose dog was trained to guard his business compound at night from local thieves that would try to jump the gates and steal his used cars from the lot. The guard dog worked like a charm. . .